SITA has announced the installation of new Scan&Fly self-service baggage drop systems at Malaysia’s Kuala Lumpur International Airport and at Moscow Domededovo Airport with S7 Airlines. These new installations follow a general push for self-service to support the seamless journey initiatives of the air travel industry.

According to IATA’s 2018 Global Passenger Survey, 68% of air travellers prefer self-service options and 16% would love a robot or drone to handle their bags. Additionally, Millennials are impatient with the check-in process preferring to check-in online using their smartphones and wanting to wait no longer than 30 seconds to drop off their bags at the airport.

S7 chose to add the self-bag drop solution after a trial conducted at its check-in counters early in September which yielded positive feedback from more than 1,000 of the airline’s customers. The airline and airport now plan an accelerated installation with 24 check-in counters at Domodedovo to be equipped with self-bag drop technology by the end of this year. The new baggage drop systems will also be available for other airlines to use the service.

Igor Borisov, director of Domodedovo said:

“This is an important stage in the transformation of the passenger’s journey at Domodedovo airport. We are actively implementing paperless and smart technologies so that passengers can freely manage their time at the airport.”

Domodedovo has been moving towards greater automation to support growth. Last year, the airport installed SITA’s eGates that can scan mobile or paper boarding passes at security controls for departures as well as at boarding gates.

Svetlana Kulyukina, director of passenger experience, S7 Group, said:

“Self-check-in and drop-off of personal baggage enables our passengers to spend significantly less time at the airport before boarding their flight. At home or at work, passengers can check in for the flight, check in their luggage, pay for additional services and at the airport just print boarding passes and drop off suitcases at the baggage self-check-in counter. It takes only a minute. Then they can proceed to the control zone.”

Dmitry Krasnov, SITA VP Russia and CIS, said: “SITA’s research has shown that automating steps in the airport journey saves time and helps provide a better passenger experience. Therefore, we are pleased to have worked with Domodedovo and S7 to bring the benefits of this self-service technology to Russia, joining more than 55 airlines in 40 airports globally that have implemented our self-bag drop technology.”

Meanwhile, Kuala Lumpur International Airport has already seen the benefits to passengers of installing 15 baggage drop units earlier this year at its Terminal 2 (KLIA2). The airport will now double the number of units available.

According to SITA, the Scan&Fly self-service systems have cut processing time in half for AirAsia passengers at the terminal, reducing the wait time for check in by 40%. The Scan&Fly system meets Millennials’ highest expectations, as stated in the IATA GPS, with a baggage drop processing time of 30-40 seconds on average.

The system also reduces the strain on human resources of managing large numbers of passengers. After the initial implementation, KLIA2 management found that they could reduce the number of agents required to assist passengers with baggage from 15 to six.

Azli Mohamed, chief strategy officer for the airport’s parent company, said that more than 25 million passengers pass through KLIA2 terminal every year,  and that number is set to grow.

Sumesh Patel, SITA President, Asia Pacific, said:

“The implementation process is very efficient. Scan&Fly uses an airport’s existing infrastructure, so it doesn’t require any modifications to its current check-in desks or conveyor belts. It is a cost-effective, retro-fit solution for airports that results in a higher passenger throughput and an increase in overall capacity.”

According to SITA’s 2018 Air Transport IT Insights report, airlines and airports will continue to invest in self-service (or assisted self-service) options to manage both regular and irregular operations. Topline findings include:

• Assisted bag-drop implementation has grown to 72% over the past 12 months.
• Unassisted bag-drop has grown to 45%
• The vast majority of airlines will likely offer unassisted self-service bag-drop by 2021.
• High-tech travellers will get their wish on robotic or autonomous machine bag-drop. SITA predicts that the airline industry will be nearing 50% implementation in three years’ time.